Autopsy indicates animal killed rural Alaska teacher, but officials can’t say if it was wolves

Autopsy concludes animal killed rural teacher

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An autopsy has concluded that a rural teacher was killed by animals, and the head of the Alaska State Troopers says wolves are the likely suspect.

However, Col. Audie Holloway says the autopsy could not say for sure what animals are to blame.

Holloway says DNA tests might determine whether wolves are responsible for the death of 32-year-old Candice Berner, who had been teaching in Alaska only since August and was originally from Slippery Rock, Pa.

Berner’s body was found Monday night about a mile outside Chignik Lake, a community on the Alaska Peninsula about 474 miles southwest of Anchorage.

The body had been dragged off the road to the village’s lagoon and was surrounded by wolf tracks.

Holloway says the autopsy ruled out other causes of death.